Art for Remembrance Day

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….Picasso’s Doves of Peace drawings were the inspiration for this lesson

Pablo Picasso was very political and didn’t like how the world’s peace initiatives were emerging after after the the second world war. He created The Dove of Peace as an extraordinarily powerful and lasting political symbol for peace, liberation and equality around the globe. Doves also had a highly personal significance for Picasso, going back to childhood memories of his father painting the doves that were kept in the family home. Doves were a frequent presence in Picasso’s homes and studios in Paris and in the south of France. ( adapted from Tate.org.uk)

Back in the spring when I came across The Dove of Peace I decided then and there that I wanted to do a similar theme for this year’s Remembrance Day assembly. I liked the simplicity of the drawings and felt that my students would be up for the challenge.

I didn’t want every student to draw doves so I had them research symbols of peace that could be easily drawn. My only rule was that the picture couldn’t have blood or weapons in it. After working out a rough copy of what they wanted to draw I gave each student a piece of watercolour paper. They were allowed to choose between a small and medium size.

First they drew their symbol with pencil and then went over the lines with crayon. To make the symbol stand out more I showed them how to add a bit of black marker. Then I taught them how to do a simple wash of colour for the their background while leaving the symbol white. This was a difficult concept for some because they wanted to paint everything.

As a final touch the children were allowed to take photographs of each other. The photo had to symbolize friendship and or peace. Some children embraced each other while others shook hands. If they didn’t want a photo taken the other option was to find a magazine picture with the same theme. The pictures were in black and white because we printed them from the computers in the room onto our shared printer which only prints in black.

On Friday, most of the art was finished and ready to be displayed in the gym. Other classes did a similar theme and some of the younger grades changed it up a bit. All in all, everyone did a great job and the space looks wonderful. A big thank you goes out to all the staff and students.

No Time to Breathe

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….to say I’m busy is an understatement

I don’t remember last year’s book fair being so busy. In fact I don’t remember having to fit in report cards during the book fair. I booked the fair for the same week as last year. Maybe report cards are due one week earlier. That would make a difference.

On Tuesday I went to an all day workshop on restorative circles and I left the book fair to my good friend, B, who did a great job. Whenever L or I have to be away from school we always ask for B first to be our supply teacher.

B didn’t have to do the book fair but she accepted the challenge. The first thing she did was rearrange my yard duty so that she could be in the library and invite students to browse. Secondly she got on the intercom and made an announcement to the entire school informing the students that despite my absence the book fair would be open. She worked all the recesses and part of her lunch hour and stayed an extra half an hour after school.

At the end of the day B counted the money, put some of it in the school safe and she wrote me a lengthy note explaining exactly what she did throughout the day. Thanks B, I can always count on you to do the best job.

Tomorrow is our Hallowe’en parade. I’m not 100% sure what my costume will be but I’m leaning towards being a school librarian. I know it’s not very original but it’s all I can think of for the time being. I have my granny glasses, jacket, pearl necklace, skirt and tights ready to go. In the morning I’ll pile my hair into a bun and collect a pile of books to carry around. The look should be everything I’m NOT.

On Friday the book fair ends. There will a draw near the end of the day where one student and their teacher can win up to $25.00 each in books. Then the hard work begins. The money has to be added up and all the books have to be packed away and the cases closed to be ready for pick up on Monday morning. Once the cases are gone then I have rearrange the library and put things back the way they were.

I’ve started putting aside some of the books that I want for the library. When I figure out our total sales I can calculate what 60% of the sales will be. Every year I go over the teachers’ wish lists and pick out some of the books and then donate them to the classrooms. I also prepare little thank you bags for my library helpers with pencils, erasers and sharpeners from the book fair, along with some sweet treats.

I’d better get to bed. Tomorrow is another long and busy day. By the way, Lucy is doing well. Only one little accident today. Given her condition I think we’ll forgive her and let it slide. Good night!

Who works harder than Olympic athletes? Men at Work at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Enjoy!

Things Didn’t Go As Planned

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..but the concert was fabulous

Before I left the house this morning I gathered up all the documents I thought I would need to get my new health card. The only thing I couldn’t find was my passport but I had a photocopy of it.

I headed over to the x-ray and imagining lab to have my bone density checked. There was no waiting and the procedure was painless and went without a hitch. I picked up a cup of lemon jasmine tea from the French baker on the corner and a couple of loaves of day old bread, rye and muesli. Next stop, the medical lab for my blood work. When I got there, however, the waiting room was so busy that there was at least a 30 minute wait. I was told if I came back before 4:00 I wouldn’t have to wait.

Plan B …..I made my way to the government office to get my new health card or so I thought. When I got there I showed the receptionist my papers and she told me that the photocopied passport couldn’t be used but I only needed two pieces of ID and the other two items I had would suffice. She gave me a number and I took a seat. There weren’t a lot of people there but it still took 30 minutes before my number came up. I no sooner got to the counter when I was told that I needed three pieces of ID and not two like I had been told. The clerk could see that I was visibly upset so she gave me a special pass so that when I returned with all my documents I wouldn’t have to wait.

I didn’t have time to drive home and get downtown in time for the concert. Luckily the offices were open till 7:00 tonight so I rushed to the subway station to catch a train into town and meet my friend, CL. When I got to the platform, one train had just left and then the sign came up saying that the next train was delayed. Fortunately it was a short delay and the next train arrived in three minutes. I arrived about 10 minutes late and CL was waiting patiently for me outside of Tim Horton’s. The lecture was starting in 10 minutes and we hadn’t had lunch so we decide to forgo the talk and grab a bite to eat instead.

The concert was sold out and the auditorium was already packed when we arrived. The only seats left where we could sit together were in the front row. When I read that we were seeing a piano duo I thought that meant two pianos and two pianists but there was only one piano on stage with two benches. The piano duo was one piano with four hands.

Bax and Chung have been described as a musical love story. Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung are married in real life and when they play together there is a sensuality and connection between them on stage that doesn’t go unnoticed by the audience. Today my favourite numbers included Stravinsky’s own four hands transcription of his ballet Petrushka and the duo’s own transcription of Three Tangos by the great Argentinian master Astor Piazzolla. After a standing ovation and three curtain calls, the audience was treated to another tango duet for their encore presentation.

I found an awesome video on Youtube that shows the couple playing Piazzolla’s Libertango. The camera is situated above the piano so that you can see the interaction between Bax and Chung. It is a great way to see the complexity of the piece and the difficulty of playing with four hands on one keyboard.

I didn’t get back in time to have my blood work done but when I got home, I found my passport and returned to the government office to have my health card processed. It should be arriving in the mail in a couple of weeks.

Getting Ready for a Busy Day

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….mixing pleasure with those things that never get done

I started my morning going through all my bills and then going on line to make some payments. I have three stops that I have to make this morning. First I’m going for a bone density scan that I should have done much earlier in the year, then I’m heading to the blood lab for more blood work and finally I’ll be standing in line to fill out the paperwork for a new health card. They finally caught up with me and after all these years of using my original health card I now have to get the new one with photo ID.

Once I’ve finished with these mundane tasks I’ll be getting on the subway and heading downtown to the university to take in the first of five concerts in a series called Music in the Afternoon. The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto, in its 116th season, puts on a series of concerts every year, featuring outstanding Canadian and international artists in a blend of instrumental and vocal chamber music. Many of these musicians are on the threshold of international recognition.

Today’s concert features Bax and Chung, a piano duo. I’ll be meeting a friend downtown and together we will walk over to the Edward Johnson Building for the Tuning Your Mind lecture which proceeds every concert. The guest speaker will give the audience some insight into the pieces that we will hear and perhaps some information about the artists who are performing. Shortly after the lecture, which is optional, the concert will begin in earnest.

I’m looking forward to the day and will report on the experience in a future post.

Cheers!

A Day Filled With Music

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….I was introduced to the music of James Ehnes

My good friend, D, took me as her guest to the final concert of the WMCT’s Music in the Afternoon 2012-2013 series. It was a special concert, held at Koerner Hall, featuring baritone Russell Braun, accompanied by his wife, pianist Carolyn Maule and violinist James Ehnes. The two men are past recipients of scholarship and career development awards presented to them by the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto, an organization that has supported world class chamber music in the city for 115 years.

I leave you with a caprice played by James Ehnes. Many consider this Canadian treasure to be one of the best violinists in the world. Listen and see if you agree. His playing awed me today. I met him after the concert and bought one of his CDs.

From Winter Straight into Summer

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….we’ve bypassed spring

I love the spring green that pops from the trees as the leaves start to unfold. It was a glorious day. Sunny and hot….well it feels hot after the freezing temperatures we had earlier in the week. The cherry blossoms should be in full bloom in the next day or so and I’m looking forward to making a trip to High Park to snap a few pictures.

Philosopher’s Walk between Koerner Hall and the ROM (museum)

As you can see from the photo above people are walking around in short sleeves and shorts. The photo was taken from the balcony on the south side of Koerner Hall. If the concert I went to wasn’t so fantastic I would have regretted being indoors on such a beautiful day. I’ll post about the concert after my pottery class tonight. I’m off!

Cheers!

A Cacophony of Bird Noises

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Mama Cormier

… at 6:30 this morning

My Happiness File: Day 12

Finding things to be happy about this week has been tricky. The first day of Spring arrived but the temperatures were cold and it snowed all week. Our dog Frances has been feeling somewhat under the weather so I didn’t get out for our evening walks this week.

Today Frances woke me at 6:30 to take her outside. When we stepped into the cold March morning we were greeted by birds squawking, screeching and making quite the rukus. It was so loud that Frances just stood there looking off in the distance trying to see where the noise was coming from. She never did do anything and after standing there in my pyjamas in the cold I decided to bring her back inside. I knew that this cacophony of bird sounds was a sure sign of spring so I found myself smiling despite the cold.

Later that morning my husband decided that we needed to take Frances to see the vet. Earlier in the week she suffered with vomiting and constant diarrhea and today she couldn’t go at all. When we got to the vets’ office she was full of vitality, not the same puppy we had experienced all week. Anyway, $200.00 later, armed with special gastro intestinal food and antibiotics we left the office with one happy dog. Update: she hates the one medicine, loves the ‘canned’ food and appears to be back to normal.

The upside to her feeling better is that we went back to our evening walk. I really did miss it and I feel so much better for it. Happy!

The other happy moment (yesterday – I didn’t finish this post last night) is that the sun came out. I was checking some studies about how sunshine and happiness are related and apparently people in countries where they don’t see the sun as often as other parts of the world are actually happier overall. I have my own theory about that. When Canadians and other more northerly countries actually do see the sun we’re so grateful when it happens that we become doubly happy. I can imagine that in countries where the sun shines all the time people tend to take it for granted.

Here is the perfect song for the end of winter.

Enjoy the sun. Cheers!

Inspirational Video

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. I found this on http://glennfolkes.wordpress.com. It’s not often that I love the music as much as the images. It’s worth the 4 minutes of your time to watch it.

Rhapsody in Blue

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Mama Cormier

Story #4 in Daily Post Writing Challenge: Just Do It

My fingers hovered over the keyboard of the computer as if wanting to play along with the Gershwin tune on the radio. The music on the classical station spontaneously made my fingers move to the rhythms of the Steinway grand piano but it didn’t help me find the words for my next story. I was hoping that they would magically appear on my laptop as I hummed to the music. I tried closing my eyes but I felt myself dozing off so I quickly refocused on the blank screen in front of me.

I randomly typed a few words looking for inspiration in the formation of the letters. Nothing. I continued to bob and sway to the music. Such a classic piece. Oh how I love Rhapsody in Blue! The music ends abruptly. Now what?

I go to Youtube and type in Rhapsody in Blue and I find the original performance. So different from what I just heard. Much faster and a tinnier sound. Now I really can’t focus on my writing. I’m totally enthralled with this music. It’s times like this when I wish I could play the piano. The irony is that I have a baby grand sitting in my livingroom and I never learned to play it.

When my son was 10 years old we discovered he had a natural musical gift and he started learning how to play the piano on an old upright that I had purchased from my choir when they were ready to buy a new one. On a whim one weekend, a year or so after our son started playing, we bought a baby grand we saw at the Home Show. Who does that? Well, we do apparently.

We never regretted our purchase. Two of our three children learned how to play it. The parents, however never did. I tried a couple of times to teach myself and I started to get the hang of it but I didn’t persevere and soon gave up practising. We’ve contemplated selling it, especially now that all our children are adults and have left the nest. The piano is in bad need of tuning but it is a beautiful piece of furniture.

I was almost ready to give in to the idea of selling it when my husband decided that he wants to learn how to play it. I can’t argue with that. If anyone can do it, he can. I’m just not sure when he wants to get started. When he does, I know it won’t be Rhapsody in Blue but Chopsticks might be a good start.

I leave you with this recording, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, as I continue to ponder on what I’m going to write.

Music That Brought Tears to My Eyes

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. I’m very emotional this time of year and music touches me to the core

Today L, K and I went downtown to enjoy the CBC’s Sounds of the Season concert. All day long radio shows were broadcast live with a studio audience and performances from musical guests. This year’s lineup included Nelly Furtado, Maestro Wes Williams, The Skydiggers, Rita Chiarelli, Blind Boys of Alabama, Liona Boyd and many more.

Between shows you could take part in the silent auction and bid on many wonderful packages put together by the celebrities at the CBC. All the money raised goes to the Daily Bread Food Bank. There was also an opportunity to meet your favourite CBC personalities and get their autographs and speak briefly with them. I can’t believe that I actually stood in line to do that but I have to admit that it was fun meeting the on air celebrities and putting a face to the voices we hear every day.

Dwight Drummond and Anne Marie M. from the CBC TV news

Mary Ito (left) from Fresh Air. I taught all three of Mary’s children. She’s as charming and outgoing as her picture appears.

The first show that we saw had the Skydiggers as the musical guest.

The Skydiggers

One of the numbers they sang was a cover of 2000 Miles by the Pretenders. As soon as the lead singer started the lyrics I started to sob like a baby. I couldn’t help it. I thought of my son in Amsterdam and how he wouldn’t be spending Christmas with us this year.

I couldn’t find a cover done by the Skydiggers but I did manage to find a video with the Pretenders doing this number in the 90s. I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSRUj31mTF4